The next quarter of an hour was a strenuous one for every passenger on board the "Merry Maid."
The Battleship Drew Nearer.
Slowly the majestic, gray craft drew nearer to the little houseboat.
The party crowded forward. No one spoke.
Nailed to their flagstaff, two torn and ragged sheets that had so long appealed in vain for rescue flapped and rustled in the wind.
The women and Jeff saw Lieutenant Lawton raise the rifle to position. Still he waited five, ten minutes. All this time the beautiful battleship steamed nearer. Now her prow was just across the line of the stern of the houseboat. The houseboat party could see the Stars and Stripes floating gloriously in the breeze.
While it was easy for the passengers of the "Merry Maid" to behold an immense battleship it was another matter for the crew on the man-of-war to discover the small pleasure craft adrift on the waters.
Jimmy Lawton fired his rifle. The signal of distress rang sharp and true. The clear air carried the sound magnificently.
At first there was no response from the battleship.